6.4.17

18-month-old toddler in Ohio passes out from suspected heroin overdose

An 18-month-old toddler in Ohio passed out following a suspected heroin overdose, authorities say.

Portsmouth cops say a "frantic" good Samaritan approached an officer just after midnight seeking help for the litle girl, who was in distress at her home.

"When I actually looked back at the baby, she was blue," neighbor Laura Royal told WSAZ.

When an officer was taken to the child's location, father Jason Bolden was in the process of rushing her to the hospital. When the little girl arrived, she was unconscious and had difficulty breathing.

The officer was told that the child's mother, Brandy Estep, may have been overdosing as well. The officer found her unresponsive in her home, and she was also transported to the emergency room at Southern Ohio Medical Center.

The baby is in serious but guarded condition, according to WSAZ, and may be released Thursday.

Royal, who used to babysit Brandy Estep, told the station that Bolden initially resisted taking the child to the hospital out of fear of being arrested.

"He kept on saying it was her sugar," Royal told the station. "He knew."

While toxicology tests have yet to provide a cause for the child's condition, both mother and daughter were revived by Narcan, according to WSAZ. Narcan blocks the effects of opioids.

"It tears my heart out because I watched her mom grow up," Royal told the station. "To know something like that could happen, I can't even think about it. It's just crazy."

Estep, 26, and the 41-year-old Bolden were charged with child endangerment.

"On a clean, sober day, you couldn't ask for a better mother," Royal told the station. "But on getting high days, she's one of the worst. And if she's going to continue to get high, she doesn't deserve her kids."